Technical Field
An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system and other power systems may include a DC-DC converter. At least some methods and systems described herein are directed to DC-DC converters that may be used in a power supply system, such as a UPS.
Background Discussion
An uninterruptible power supply is used to provide backup power to an electrical device, or load, when the primary power source, or mains, fails. Typical loads include computer systems, but other loads, such as heating/cooling/ventilation systems, lighting systems, network switches and routers, and security and data center management systems may also be powered by a UPS. A UPS designed for data center or industrial use may provide backup power for loads of between 1 kVA to multiple MVA for several hours.
A UPS unit typically includes one or more batteries as a power source when AC mains power is unavailable. DC power provided by the battery is converted to AC power by a power converter circuit, which in turn is provided to the load. A battery charger, which converts AC power to DC power, may be included in the UPS to charge the battery when AC mains is available to ensure that backup power will be available when needed. A UPS may also include a bi-directional DC-DC converter that is used to convert a voltage of a DC bus to a charging voltage, and may also be used to convert a DC battery voltage to that of the DC bus. The UPS may also include a control unit for automatically managing the operation of the UPS and the power conversion functions.